The Boy With The Key
by Link1417
Summary: What if Kingdom Hearts happened...but without out all of the original characters? A young teen named Lee starts to have strange dreams of falling in dark places. What could they be about? Read and you'll find out!
1. Chapter 1: Nothing

_~I know this first chapter is short but bare with me here, I've got BIG plans for this story. I'll try to upload chapters as much as I can._

**CHAPTER 1: NOTHING**

Silence. Deafening silence. He opened his eyes, and what he saw startled him. Nothing. There was nothing around. No sky, no ground. Nothing. Only a cold feeling wafting around his body and darkness all around. Why was he here?

This place that was so unfamiliar made him want to scream. He shouted. No words, just a yell. He didn't like unfamiliar places. Finally, as he began to calm down, he started to think. Maybe this was all a dream. Yeah! A dream. He had ate something the previous night that was way past its' expiration date. He'd wake up any minute and run to the bathroom to expel the food that was causing this nightmare. He waited, and waited, and waited longer still. But nothing.

He called out "Hey!...Is anybody there? Anybody! Where am I?" He waited for a reply, but it did not come.

He began to worry, What if he had died in his sleep? Yeah! He could of passed away in his sleep, But from what cause? Age? No, he was only sixteen. Heart attack? Back to the age thing. Was it even possible for a sixteen year old high school student to have a heart attack? He didn't think so. He tossed that thought aside and started to ponder another. Maybe this was real. Had he wandered of into a pitch black tunnel. But there were no tunnels in his home town. Had he been at a party last night? Perhaps he drank to much and got in a car with someone and they dropped him off in the middle of no where? No! He would never drink. He despised drinking. Ever since his brother had died in a car accident while he was intoxicated. He swore to himself he'd never touch the stuff. So if he hadn't been out partying then what was it then? How did he get here? Why was he here?

He looked down and saw nothing but his legs. He attempted to push down with his leg to get some footing. But as he tried his whole body had the funniest sensation. His heart began to race, beating faster than it had ever beat before! He knew this feeling, although he had only felt it this once before. One summer a few years back, him and his friend were jumping off of a bridge into a lake. They knew it was illegal but they were having fun and that was all that mattered. The sensation of falling was an intense one. He remembered that when he would jump off the bridge, he could feel his heart stop. It only started beating again when he was a few feet from the water. Then, once he had plunged into the deep, cool water, he would surface and catch his breathe, feeling alive and excited. But this time there was no water, or at least he didn't see any. He was falling inside a black abyss. He couldn't see anything that looked like ground. If there was ground, then maybe he would splatter across it and end this torture. But seeing nothing and knowing that nothing lay below him, it was worse than death. He could be falling for ever and not realize it. He began to panic. Frantically, he began wailing his arms about, in some attempt to grab onto a ledge of some sort. Nothing. There was nothing to stop his fall. He spread out his body and looked straight down. Or was it up? He could no longer tell. He had come to the conclusion that he was going to fall like this forever. Or at least until he died from starvation.

And then, all of a sudden, he saw something. In the distance. A speck, a dot of light! What was it? He wanted it. He wanted to reach it. He slowly angled his body towards the light. His body was as straight as a pencil. He could feel his body freezing. It was so cold, but anything was worth getting to that light. Slowly, the light began to grow. Which meant he was getting closer! He looked straight into the center of the light, transfixed by it. The light, he finally realized, was a small platform, very small. Possible only big enough for him to stand on.

"L...lll" He heard a noise.

"Who is it!" he called out.

Then the noise came again "Llle...Lllleee...Leeeee!"

His name, Lee. "Yeah! That's me, I'm Lee! Who are you?" And then it hit him.


	2. Chapter 2: Bully

He was cold. His face was covered in ice cold water.

"AAAH!" the boy shouted.

"Get up sleepy head." Said a voice.

"Wha-…." He replied.

A loud clanging noise filled the room, piercing the boy's eardrums. He opened his eyes to see a metal bucket lying on the ground next to his dresser. Beside the bucket his sister was standing in his room. She was five feet tall, hands on her hips, a scowl on her face, and long black hair, about waist length with red highlights on the right side. Or was it her left? The boy couldn't tell, he was always getting left and right mixed up. He just figured it was one of his many flaws, along with his inability to focus on anything for more than a few minutes, and his constant mistakes any anything he ever did or created.

"I said get up! Its already noon. It may be summer, but you still have chores that need to be done!"

She walked out of his room, leaving him to ponder over the dream he just had. What was going on in the dream? He remembered it perfectly. He was falling in a black abyss, falling into cold darkness. He remembered that eventually, he saw a light. What was it? What could it have been?

"Eh, it was probably just me waking up…".

"Lee! Get out of bed now!" the girl shouted. Apparently she knew he still hadn't crawled out of bed.

"Okay, Okay I'm up!" Lee growled, pulling himself up and out of his bed. The girl walked out of his room. As he stood up and walked over to his dresser, he felt a little light headed. The room began to spin and he felt a little queasy. He reached out to hold onto something. But before he could grab something he started to fall backwards. He hit the floor hard.

And as he lye on the floor he heard a voice.

"Soon" it said.

"Soon?" he replied. "Soon what?" He looked around for the voice he was hearing. He saw nothing but his dirty little room. Cloths on the floor, wads of paper throw about. He stood up and waited about a minute. He didn't hear the voice again, so he put his shirt on and changed his shorts. He grabbed his cell phone and made his way out of his room. He stopped at his mirror and looked for any pimples that might have come up over night. Nothing, as usual. Lee was a clean person, so blemishes weren't really a problem. He looked at his body. The shirt was a tight fit, just the way he like it. He didn't really have any muscle but he wasn't chubby. He felt a little to skinny at times. His light brown hair, which was almost a blonde, fell down in front of his eyes, but not to far. His hair was straight for the most part and none of it stuck up or out of place. He made sure to take care of his hair every night. Lee felt a little weird being so neat, clean, and exact but didn't really bother being to worried about it. He left his room and walked past his sisters room, the bathroom, and finally, their parents' old room.

"NOW LEE!" the girl shouted from across the house. It was a wonder her she hadn't broken a window being as loud as she was. Lee looked at his parents old room. His sister had always kept it locked, so he didn't know what the inside looked like. Many times he contemplated breaking in, just to spite his sister. But all in all he didn't really care to look. He had no interest of what might be in there. If there was an object of value, his sister would have already took it and sold it for food money.

"Lee Emeric! Your chores! Now! I have to be at work in fifteen minutes!" The long haired girl shouted as she poked her head around the corner of the hallway.

"OKAY! Jeez Elizabeth, bite my head off why don't you! You don't gotta treat me like a kid. Your not my mom!" Lee snapped back

Lee and Elizabeth's parents passed away when Lee was just 5 years old. Elizabeth was 14 and was the only one left in their family to take care of Lee. Although they were to be put in foster care, but she didn't want her little brother to go through something like that. She took him into her care and they ran away to the ghetto, where she raised him for 3 years underneath an old bridge. The cops were doing a raid on a supposed drug dealers' house. They arrested the man, and on the way out they had heard a noise. They looked around and inspected a nearby trash can. Inside they found a little boy eating week old pizza from the garbage. The boy ran, scared out of his mind. His older sister always told him to run if the cops tried to get him. The cops chased him, trying to tell him they meant no harm. They chased him all the ways back to the bridge finding his sister huddled up in a blanket. She was sick, and had been for several days. The cops took both of them into custody. They were each put in separated foster homes. When Elizabeth was old enough, she got a job. She worked until she had enough money to raise a child. She found the foster home that her brother was located in and adopted him.

And ever since then, Elizabeth has struggled to keep her and her little brother fed. She had three jobs at one time, but got fired from one for being late. Lee had been incredibly sick one week, and Elizabeth stayed up half the night taking care of him. But nowadays, Lee was able to take care of himself for the most part. Even if he was sick, which wasn't often.

Lee rushed out the back door. As he did, he could hear Elizabeth yelling for him to get his butt back in the house and do his chores. He paid no attention. As he approached the front of the house he spotted his skateboard. Black with grey cuts covering the wheels. He knew it wasn't a style, but just a worn out skateboard he found in a dumpster. But rather than get picked on he just said it was a style in a different country. Of course, no one believe him. They made fun of him for as many flaws they could find in his life. But Lee always played it off. He was cool,calm, and collect; the "Three C's" is what he always called it.

The skateboard dropped, and as it did Lee jumped on. He loved the feeling of riding a skateboard. It made him feel so is why he tried to go outside as much as he could. He kicked off with his left foot and glided down the street. Some kids were playing ball and they had dropped it. He used one of his feet to kick it up and then, in a swift motion, popped the front of the board up and, amazingly, got high enough to whack the ball back towards the children. They laughed and he grinned. He loved lookin' cool, especially in front of kids. He wanted them to look up to him. As he made his way down the street he heard a voice.

"Hey dweeb! So you think your so cool huh?" the voice called out called. As Lee heard this taunt he looked back, and then came to a stop. There, walking up to him, was the school bully, Richard Fabrice. Six-foot-three, muscly, and a jerk. He had dark brown hair, and usually wore black basketball shorts and a tank top. Him and Lee had had a long history of rivalry. And for what reason? No one knew. Richard had singled out Lee since day one of high school.

"What do you want Richard?" He said as he scowled at the large bully stand only a few feet in front of him.

"Hey, it's Master Richard to you, Emeric! And did I say you could talk back?" He spat back at Lee.

At the thought of Richard being his master, a shiver went down Lee's spine. What a horrible nightmare that would be. Lee finally worked up the nerve to yell back "As if you could rule over anything!"

Richard smirked. He found the perfect come back. "Hey now! Didn't your mommy ever teach you to watch your mouth?" he said. He then made a gasping face and added "Oh wait! That's right. You don't have a mommy. Or a daddy either!"

Lee clenched his fist at those last words. Richard noticed this action and took it as incentive to keep going.

"They probably killed themselves cause they couldn't get outta taking care of your sorry ass. They didn't love you enough, Emeric. Wait! Enough? NO! They didn't love you at all!"

Lee snapped. He lunged foreword, his skate board wheeling away to the curb. First his left, then his right fist hit Richard in the face. Richard didn't expect that and stumbled backwards. He hunched foreword as Lee wailed on him. Then, with all the strength he had, uppercut Lee in the chest.

"You little …, know your place!" He backed away from Lee and watched him hit the ground hard. Lee let out a groan of pain and tried to get back up. Richard responded with a kick. His foot hit hard on Lee's left shoulder, sending him rolling backwards. Richard watched as Lee gasped for breath. He walked over and grabbed the back of Lee's hair. He threw him over into someones driveway.

"Eat dirt!" Lee's face was then shoved into the ground courtesy of Richards shoe.

Lee managed to get a few words in "actually.." he pushed him self back up on his knees. "It's gravel you idiot!"

Richard replied with punch to his face. Lee hit the ground again and Richard laughed. He couldn't move his body at all. He was in too much pain. He heard the bullies footsteps get closer to him. He flinched as Richard crouched down. The next thing that happened was both gross and relieving. He knew Richard was done with him after what came next. Richard gathered all spit he had, and spat, right in Lee's face. Lee almost threw up because Richard smoked, which made anything that came out of that nasty mouth even more nastier.

"Idiot" Richard said. Lee couldn't hang on any longer. He passed out and Richard laughed. "Stupid kid thought he could take me on. As if!" And then the monstrous bully walked off, probably to a friends house to gloat about how much of a pansy Lee was and that he got his butt kicked.

As Lee's mind began to close in on him and the world went dark, he only had one thought.

"At least I felt something for once, even though it was pain."


	3. Chapter 3: The Key

_**Chapter 3: The Key  
><strong>_

The air was cold and thin. Lee opened his eyes and saw nothing. But, strangely, this nothingness was familiar. It was cold and black, like the bottom of a deep ocean. He could breath, but it was kind of hard. He knew where he was. He knew he had been here before. This place was the same as where he had been when he woke up this morning. It was that cold and dark abyss that filled him with a sense of fear and tiredness. He had only one thought.

"Where is that light from before?"

Lee looked around, and as he did he felt the same falling sensation. He quickly judged, from the feeling in his gut, which direction he was following. Once he had discerned which direction it was, he turned his body towards that direction and started to dive straight ahead. It was so cold; Lee felt like his nose was going to snap off. His eyes started to water, and his nose started to run.

Just when he was about to pass out from exhaustion, he saw a twinkle in the distance. He slowly grew and grew until it was as big as he had remembered. He pressed on, hoping he could get to it this time. The bright platform continued to grow until it was about the size of really small house. It was even bigger up close.

As he neared the platform, he thought to himself. "How am I going to land?"

Immediately Lee started to think of ways to break his fall. He bent his body, and as he did he slowly rotated, until his feet were facing the ground. He was only about four feet from the ground now. His plan was to hit the ground and roll. He didn't think there was much else to do. But as his feet neared the ground, he felt his body slow down. His toes gracefully touched the platform. He slowly straightened up and his feet flattened against the ground.

He looked at the surface of the platform and saw that it was bright, but it didn't hurt to stare at it. He realized, at that moment, that he was still wearing his cloths from before he passed out. There was a small blood stain on his shirt and his lower lip. He wiped the blood from his lip and scratched off a bit of the blood that was on his shirt. He kicked his shoes against the platform. It was solid, that was for sure.

He gazed around at the platform. It was completely round, and he had landed in its center. Lee nervously took a step in a random direction. Once he had got the hang of walking on the bright surface, he picked up the pace and ran. He reached the edge of the platform. Peering over the edge, Lee gazed at the side of the platform. It was actually a giant pillar. The sides, unlike the flat top he was standing on, were covered in what looked like stain glass windows. It was colored green, blue, and red, as well as tiny spots of other colors.

Lee stood up and stretched. He looked around and wondered where this place was. Maybe he should call for help again. But last time nobody answered. Even still it was worth a try.

"Hey! Is anybody there?"

Still, it was silent as could be. He stared at the ground, his eyes focusing on the glowing, bright platform. And then he heard it.

"You don't know where this is?" A voice rang through Lee's ears. It actually made no sound and yet, he could hear the voice clearly. It was a strange feeling.

"W-who's there?" Lee replied to the mysterious voice.

For a few moments it remained silent. Then finally the voice spoke again. "Lee…this is your heart. Can't you see it?"

Lee looked at the ground once more. This was his heart? Wasn't a heart just a beating organ inside of him? How could this giant pillar be his heart?

"I know what you are thinking. Yes you do have a human heart that beats within your chest. But this heart…it is something bigger and much more complex."

Lee thought for a moment and asked "What do you mean?"

"The heart that I speak of is generally unheard of by humans. It is….hard to explain but if I can tell you one thing about your heart."

Lee waited for the voice to tell him about his heart. He grew impatient and called out asking what it was.

"Your heart is on the edge of darkness. It has been for years. If you don't watch your step, you might just lose yourself"

The voice echoed throughout the abyss, as if those words were important and needed to be emphasized. But what did all of it mean? Darkness? Hearts? Was this a dream? He had to find out.

"Why am I here? You said this…was my heart? Right?" Lee asked to the nothingness.

There was a pause and then finally "You're waking up to your destiny. All who are worthy of wielding The Key find their way into a place such as this one."

Lee thought for a moment. None of what the mysterious voice was saying made sense.

"What key? A key to what?"

Lee heard a noise, like a bursting, bubbling, and emerging-from-a-substance kind of sound. He turned around to see black blotches on the ground. Slowly a small creature started to form. It was black, short, and squirmy with long antennae in its head. It twitched and fidgeted in place. Lee was slightly intimidated, but then slowly, became curious. He stepped forward, reaching out to the shadowy creature.

In an instant it jumped and swung its claws at Lee. As it landed next to Lee, readying for another attack, Lee stumbled backwards and fell hard on the platform. He looked at the spot on his chest where he had been attacked. From the cuts came crimson liquid, spilling out onto the platform.

"Rrck…"Lee let out. This was no dream. The pain was too real. Quickly he ran away from the monster to the other side of the platform. He was scared, for once in his life that he was going to die. He couldn't stop the bleeding, and with that creature still trying to attack him, there was no way he could survive.

Then, slowly more blotches of shadows came up from the platform. They all looked like the same creature.

"What you are seeing are creatures that go by the name Heartless. They will hunt you down relentlessly. And you will have no chance of survival…unless…."

Lee looked up at the nothingness around him. "These things….are Heartless?" he asked. The word heartless, by breaking the word down most likely meant a being without a heart. But how can something live without a heart? Lee thought to himself "Perhaps they are not lacking the heart I'm thinking of. Maybe they're lacking the hearts that the voice spoke of?"

Lee's thinking was interrupted by a group of heartless jumping into the air, heading straight for him. Lee rolled out of the way and sprang up, ready to jump away from the next attack.

"You said I will have no chance of survival unless…" Lee quoted "Unless what? Is there something I can do?"

The voice was silent for a moment, then finally "Will you accept The Key that can save you, as well as many others? Will you accept The Key that will save and destroy many things?"

Lee was confused by all of what the voice was saying but he called out "I accept this Key!"

There was a bright light that flashed. It came from Lee's hand. He felt something sprout forth from the light in between his fingers. At first it was just a feeling, but then it became a solid object. It was a bar or a handle of some sort that weighed, to Lee, much like a baseball bat. The light started to die down. As it did the voice began to speak and the object in his hand became clearer.

"The thing you now hold is the Keyblade."

Lee looked at the Keyblade. It was about as long as a baseball bat. The handle was long enough to fit two hands on it. It was textured so that it wouldn't slip out the hand that wielded it There was a big guard that went around the whole handle, kind of like the shape of a D on each side. This part of the Keyblade was golden. The actual blade part of the Keyblade was basically a pole. At its tip was some sort of crown. All of this part was covered in a shining silver color. To Lee it was a strange looking weapon. But it felt right to wield it. He gripped it tight, feeling its weight.

"What is this thing?" Lee asked

One of the Heartless jumped at Lee. Lee's arm jerked forward, slicing the Heartless in half. It vanished in about the same fashion as it appeared. Except this time a tiny heart flew out and up into the sky. Lee looked at the heart with curiosity. Was that the heart the voice was speaking about? It sparkled and rotated into the sky, until it was no longer visible. Lee's focused was then centered on the remaining group of Heartless.

He glanced at the Keyblade and swung it back and forth a few times. "So it's like a sword huh?" Lee proceeded to get into his battle stance. He had never fought with a sword before, so this stance was completely new. He had been used to fist fights where he would fight head on face to face. But there was something about this stance that seemed to fit the Keyblade as well as his personality. He was positioned with his left foot forward and his right to the side and moved back a little. He shoulders were relaxed and his left arm lay limp and yet ready. His right arm mirrored his left except for his wrist was twisted back a little. His right hand clenched tightly around the handle of the Keyblade.

"Bring it!" Lee called out to the Heartless.

Almost immediately after Lee uttered those words, all of the Heartless either jumped towards Lee, or sunk into the ground and some what slithered over to him, resurfacing as soon as they got with in range of attack. They readied their claws and swung, Lee rolled to his left, but a few of the Heartless were already on his tail. As he rose up from his dodge roll, he slashed horizontally, cutting four of the heartless in half. As with the first, a red, shiny, glowing heart appeared and floated up into the sky.

"Where do the hearts go?" Lee asked the voice.

There was no answer. Instead Lee got a claw to the shin. He jumped back and crouched to look at the cut. There were 3, parallel cuts running diagonally across his shin. He winced at the pain, but stood back up, running towards the 3 remaining heartless.

He jumped and brought the Keyblade down hard. It cut through the middle Heartless. As it disintegrated into nothingness and the Keyblade bounced off of the ground, Lee swung hard to his left, then rotating around counterclockwise and slicing diagonally down to his left side, he slew the two remaining heartless.

Lee stood up, smiling in triumph. "So, is that all?"  
>The voice finally spoke. "No … The Heartless are a never dying breed of monsters born from within hearts of those who have forsaken the light. You have been destined since the day you were born to wield the blade you hold now. It will unlock many things for you. Use it to shine light into the darkness."<p>

Lee was confused by all of the things the voice said. "I … am destined?" He asked.

"Indeed you are. Your heart is special. The Keyblade has chosen you to be its wielder. But one thing you must remember."

"What is it?"

"So long as there is light in your heart, the darkness will try to make its way in. That must not happen. For if a Keyblade wielder were to turn to the darkness …"

Lee waited for the voice to finish his sentence. But no words came. "What will happen if I turn to the darkness? I won't be able to wield this blade any more. Right?"

The voice resumed talking. "It matters not. You fear the Darkness. There will be no chance of you turning from the Light."

"Hey what does that mea-" Lee called out. But before he could finish his sentence, the platform began to shake. It rumbled so much; Lee thought it was going to collapse. But it didn't. But instead it tilted and Lee began to fall backwards. He fell off of the Pillar and into the darkness that lye below. His eyes began to get heavy and he felt like falling asleep.

"Have no fear. The closer you get to the Light, the bigger your shadow will become. But do not be afraid … Keep walking … You are the one who will open the door."


	4. Chapter 4: A Dream That Wasn't A Dream

_** Chapter 4: A Dream That Wasn't A Dream**_

Everything was fuzzy. Lee opened his eyes and was blinded by how bright the light was. He squinted and tried to focus. Around him he noticed it was the same scenery as before; a rundown house and a gravel driveway. The thing different was the fact that it was now dark outside Lee started to stand. As he did his head started to pound. Richard sure did a number on him. He must have passed out after Richard walked off.  
>Lee began to walk to the edge of the driveway. He noticed his skateboard had remained in the same spot it had rolled to when the fight began. He picked it up with no intention of riding it home. Instead, Lee decided to walk. It gave him time to think. What in the world was with that place he just visited? Was it just a dream, or was it really his heart. And furthermore, what was with that key? The Keyblade, even though it was oddly shaped, it cut right through those things called Heartless like butter; its blunt edge barely slowing down the swing.<p>

Lee lifted his hand up to his face. He stopped walking and stared at it.

"I wonder …"

He focused hard on the center of his hand. Nothing happened of course. He swung his arm back down to his side.

Then a sound came. The same sound as when the Keyblade appeared in his hand inside of his heart. Lee felt a weight in his hand. A handle seemed to ease into his hand. Bringing up his hand to look, he saw what it was.

"The Keyblade?" Lee shouted, holding it out at arm's length. As he said those two words and moved his arm, the Keyblade vanished in the same way it came to him.

Lee swung his arm again. Nothing happened. Again and again he tried to summon forth the Keyblade. And time and time again it didn't come. Frustrated he threw his arms in the air and continued to walk home.

"It was just a stupid, stupid dream. Lee, your just hallucinating. There is no such thing as a Keyblade." Lee mumbled to himself.

As he stumbled into his driveway, Lee noticed that Elizabeth was standing in the door way with her hands on her hips.

"Where in the world have you been! Do you know what time it is?" She shouted at Lee. He disregarded her words and walked to the side of the house, dropping his skateboard and making his way through the back door.

Elizabeth was waiting for him. "Answer me!"

"I was just at a friend's!" He tried to push past her. It was a failed attempt because she stood firm in the door way.

"Then why do you have a black eye?" She had turned on the kitchen light, which blinded Lee long enough for his sister to inspect his face.

"It's nothing sis." Lee shoved her aside. He walked to his room and slammed the door. Elizabeth ran after him. She reached for the door knob. She heard a click, and her hand dropped to her side.

"You know Lee … you can talk to me … if you need to …" She said.

Lee listed as her footsteps grow silent. He knew she was gone now, walked over to his bed. He grabbed his hair brush and plopped down on his bed. Lee slowly brushed his hair, thinking about what had happened earlier in the day. It had to have been a dream. Keyblades and Heartless and Hearts. He laughed. Why was he even thinking about all of that. It was just a stupid dream. He had another thought. Richard must of hit him really hard to make him sleep that long. Lee looked at his clock.

"11:30!" Lee shouted. "Jeez, I sure was gone a long time. I guess I should go to sleep." Lee set the brush on his nightstand, turned out the lights, and threw the covers over him. Almost immediately he was fast asleep.

The next morning Lee was awoken by the usual nagging of his older sister. He crawled out of bed and slipped a new shirt on. He was a few feet from his door when he stopped to stare at the mirror as he usually did. Something was a little different. He shook the thought from his head as he patted his hair down. Once he was satisfied with his appearance, he made his way into the kitchen.

"Oh wow! Lee is actually up this morning!" Elizabeth said in a sarcastic tone.

Lee sighed as she place the bacon, eggs, and toast on a plate in front of him. Elizabeth went to get him some juice from the fridge, and when she got back with his glass, Lee had already inhaled half of his food. He choked a little but kept on eating.

Elizabeth then shouted "Slow down you pig!" Lee didn't follow her orders, as usual, and ate the rest of his plate. He noticed the glass of OJ in Elizabeth's hand. He grabbed it and chugged the whole glass. When he slammed the cup down he let out a huge burp.

"Oh Lee" his sister said as she took his plate to the sink. "You really shouldn't eat that fast. It isn't healthy for you."

"Yeah yeah!" Lee mouthed off.

"Chores! Now!" She commanded.

Lee got up and started the dishes. After they were washed, rinsed, then dried, Lee took out the garbage and pushed the dumpster to the road for pick up. He looked down at his skateboard as he passed it. The wheels were getting pretty bad. Not to say they weren't bad enough when he first dug it out of the garbage.

He continued back into the house. Elizabeth was sweeping the kitchen tile. She noticed him come in and directed him to fold the laundry that was in the dryer. He did as he was told.

"You know sis …" Lee said.

Elizabeth looked up from sweeping over to the other side of the kitchen. The washer and dryer were setting in a little indent in the wall. They didn't actually have a laundry room, so instead they made room in the kitchen. "What is it Lee?"

Lee kept folding, and finally he looked up and said "I had a weird dream last night."

Elizabeth gave him a weird look. "So?"

"Hey, you said I could talk to you if I needed to." Lee stared at the ground, ready to stay silent.

Elizabeth laughed and said "Yeah I did say that. Okay, tell me about this weird dream you had."

Lee looked up and his and Elizabeth's eyes met. He avoided them and started to tell her about the "dream" he had. He explained everything about the platform, the voice, the Heartless, and the Keyblade. Everything he said he tried to put in as much detail as he could so that she would believe him. He told about how he had to fight off the Heartless, and that he had gotten clawed by the Heartless.

"Wow Lee, that's some dream you had!" Elizabeth said. Her words exploded out of nowhere, interrupting Lee.

Lee was angered by this and shouted "Elizabeth you gotta believe me it really happened!"

Elizabeth gave him an odd look. "Oh so now it actually happened?"

"I … I don't know. It felt like a dream but I got cut by one of the Heartless. See?" Lee pulled up his pants leg. When he did, Elizabeth rolled her eyes and walked over into the living room. Lee looked at his leg. The cuts were gone. There was no scar, no dried blood, no bruise. Nothing was there.

"Elizabeth, I swear it was there last night!" He shouted

"Lee, I don't like liars. I'm pretty sure there would be a visible scar, cut, or something if what you said actually happened. You are going to stop lying, do you understand me?"  
>"But Elizabeth-" Lee pleaded<p>

"No buts!" She said. "Go play with you friends or something. It's my day off and I don't wanna put up with you right now. Please!"

Lee walked out the door. He grabbed his skateboard and rode off. He was so angry at his sister. He sped off to the park. Swerving in and out of the oncoming cars, Lee took his anger out on the road. After every trick he did, he made sure he landed hard. For some reason the harder he landed the better he felt. Lee made sure not to land too hard so that way he didn't break the skateboard. It was bad enough that the wheels were getting loose.

He rounded another corner and spotted the park in the distance. There were parents there, all with their children playing as they watched. As he rolled up to the block, Lee slowed to a stop, popped up his board, and carried his board over to one of the tables.

Lee sat there for hours. He watched some kids play on the playground. Eventually he layed back on top of the table and closed his eyes to rest. Lee probably spent most of his days sleeping, and usually for hours on end.

He was soon disturbed by a familiar voice.

"Hey Lee!"

Lee quickly sat up and looked around, rubbing his eyes. He turned around and saw his best friend Wade jogging towards him. His short curly hair bounced a little as he ran. Wade began to slow down, bending over and supporting himself with his knees. As he breathed, Lee noticed that instead of the normal get up he usually wore, which was a hoodie and jeans, Wade was wearing a black tank top and black shorts.

"What's with the change in style?" Lee asked

Wade stood straight up and ran his hand through his hair. "I just thought of trying something new."

"Looks fine I guess" Lee spoke with a slight tone of apathy. He didn't know why but he felt a little depressed.

"So, what's the scoop?" asked Wade as he set down next to Lee. That question, as odd sounding as it was, was Wade's way of saying "Anything new?" or "Anything interesting happen lately?"

Lee thought for a moment then responded with "Nah. Sis is just bugging me, as always. What about you?"

"Same old, same old."

Wade laughed "That's all you ever say! I mean come on man, really nothing changes with you "

Lee frowned and averted Wade's eyes. At this, Wade realized what he said came out in an offending way.

"Hey come on man!" Wade shouted as he slapped Lee on the back. "It was just a joke!"

Lee couldn't help but laugh a little. "I know…"

"Something diggin' at you?" Wade asked.

Lee wondered if he would say the same thing as Elizabeth. He didn't want his best friend to laugh at him for having crazy dreams.

"Well…" Lee started to explain.

"Go on."

"But…"

"No buts, tell me what's the matter man!"

"You'll think I'm crazy!"

"Dude just tell me!"

"Fine!" Lee shouted. There was silence in the entire park. The parents were startled by Lee's yelling, and slowly each one took their kids to their car and drove off, heading in all directions which, in a way kind of reminded Lee of scattering ants on a mound of dirt.

"Last night… I had this really weird dream. But it felt so real, I swear I had been there more than once."

Wade gave Lee an odd look. "A dream? That's what's bothering you?"

"See, your doing exactly what Elizabeth did. You're not even going to listen to what it was about?"

"I didn't mean it like that, just tell me about the dream"

Lee explained everything just as he did to Elizabeth, except this time he showed him how the cut was missing rather than tell him it was there. Wade asked a few questions about the Heartless. He seemed intrigued.

"So, you're …as you put it, the Keyblade's Chosen One?" Wade asked.

"Yeah, I mean…" Lee paused for a moment to think of what to say "Maybe it was just a dream, but I felt the pain, the cold, and even the Keyblade. It doesn't weigh a lot, but still it had some weight to it. It had to have been real, all of it. Do you believe me?"

"Of course." Wade said.

Lee was taken aback. "R-really?"  
>"Well, I believe that you believe it. But if I can't see proof it's kind of hard to completely believe you." Wade said in the most sincere way he could think of.<p>

"Oh… I see. Well it's to be expected, but at least you listened. Unlike my sister who just wants to shut me up."  
>Wade slung his arm around Lee and said "Don't worry man, that's kinda what older siblings do."<p>

Lee looked at him and attempted to sink away from Wade's grip. Before he could do so though, Wade put Lee in a head lock.

"OW! Come on man!" Lee said, struggling to free himself.

"Say uncle!" Wade dug his knuckles into the top of Lee's skull.

Lee pulled out from his grip and rolled away. As he stood he glared at Wade and slowly after a few seconds, smiled. Wade was always like a brother to him. Wade's parents were nice and almost treated him like a second son.

"It's getting late, I should get home." Wade announced.

Lee looked around at the park. Everyone was gone, but it was still light outside. "Really dude? It's gotta be only like, what, six o'clock?"  
>"Yeah I know" said Wade "But Mom's makin' spaghetti tonight! You should see if you can come over. I'm sure my parents would be cool with it."<p>

"Awesome let's get there fast, I'm starving." Lee said as he grabbed his skateboard and waited for Wade to get up.

"Shouldn't you clear it with your sis first?" Wade asked.

"Nah, she'd just yell at me and tell me no. I'd rather eat good food tonight.

Wade shrugged. No changing his mind, he thought.

They started off towards Wade's house, which was in the opposite direction of Lee's. As they walked, Lee had a familiar feeling. He stopped walking and pulled his hand up to his chest.

"Can you do it?"

"What?" Lee asked.

"What?" Wade asked back.

"You just asked if I could do it."

Wade gave him a weird look. "Do what?"

Lee shook his head and tried to continue walking. He stopped again and fell to his knees.

"You have to, or you'll die."

"What…what are you talking about?"

"Dude I'm not-" Wade's words cut off as he turned around and saw Lee on the ground. Wade asked if Lee was alright, but Lee didn't answer. He just stayed on his knees, leaning over as he clutched his chest.

"They are coming."

"What?" Lee looked up, still holding his chest and saw dark blob looking things coming up from the ground.

"Heartless!" Lee jumped up, forcing himself to stand.  
>"What?" Wade asked. He turned around and jumped at the sight of the black creatures. "Those things? L-like in your dream?"<p>

"Wade… I don't think it was just a dream. I think… I think it was a trip into my heart."

"What? What the hell does that even mean?"

"Get out of the way!" Lee shouted as a Heartless jumped towards Wade, its claws ready to slice Wade's back wide open.

Wade dodged its attack and in retaliation, kicked in in the head. Or, at least he tried. Wade's foot went right through it.

"What the-" The Heartless jumped again, cutting Wade's chest. He shouted at the first instant of the pain, but quickly silenced himself and strafed backwards.  
>"Lee, these things aren't solid beings."<p>

"No Wade, they are. They are… from what I've learned from that voice, they are the physical manifestation of the Darkness in a person's heart. And as far as I know, only the Keyblade can destroy them." Lee was surprised at how much of the information he had retained from listening to that voice.

"He'll die….if you don't do something"  
>The Heartless surrounded Lee, one of them taking its chance to cut Wade's shin. Wade hit the ground and the group of Heartless swarmed around him. "Then summon the Keyblade already!"<p>

"I can't!" Lee shouted.

"Why not?" asked Wade in a panic.

"I-I don't know, I just can't!"

Lee tried to focus. But nothing came to him. That sensation of the Keyblades power wasn't running through him. He had to do something, but what?

Lee ran towards the Heartless shouting and swinging at it. The Shadow sank into the ground avoiding Lee's punch. It surfaced behind him and clawed at his heels. Lee reacted faster than it could. He rolled out of the way and stood back up, ready to dodge another hit.

"Lee, help!" Lee looked around and saw that Wade was being held down by a group of Shadows. One lone Heartless stood and readied its razor sharp claws. Wade fidgeted and tried to escape, but the Shadows were too strong.

Lee stood still and focused harder. He focused on his heart and the Keyblade's power. He remembered the feeling, the surge of light that went through him. He wanted, no, he needed to recreate that feeling.

"AAH!" Wade continued to yell as the Heartless continued to claw at him. A small light began to appear on top of Wade's chest. Lee saw that inside that light was a heart. It was Wade's heart. The Heartless were succeeding in taking his heart, and soon, it would be Lee's turn.

"Damn it!" He shouted as watched his friend start to fade.

"Damn it!" He repeated over and over with each cut the Heartless made on his friend.

"Damn it, Damn it, Damn it!" he shouted as rage filled his entire body.

The next few moments were a blur. Lee's body seemed to act on its own. He ran forward, charging right at the Heartless. Lee's arm swung out, and in doing so, the Keyblade appeared in a flash of light. He jumped on the first Heartless he saw. A downward slice cut right through it. Next, to consecutive horizontal strikes, both in the same direction connected by a quick three-sixty spin. The tip of the Keyblade was facing down to his left. He sliced upwards at an oncoming Heartless. It evaporated before it had a chance to leave the ground. The final Heartless decided to sink into the ground.

"You think you can run?" Lee yelled as he flipped the Keyblade into a back handed position. He dropped down on one knee and thrust the Keyblade into the heartless. It perished in a flash of light.

When all of the Heartless were defeated, Lee rushed over to Wade. He lay on the ground, unconscious with the light that was his heart still floating above his chest.

"Wade! Oh crap man, come on! You gotta be alright, come on!" Lee shook his friend, and as he did Wade's heart stayed level with his chest.

"He'll die without a heart"

"Shut up" Lee shouted at the voice.

"The Keyblade is more than just a weapon to defeat the Heartless."

Lee was confused by what he just heard. "What do you mean, it's a stupid looking sword right?"

"To you, but to its previous wielders, it was a tool of great power. It can save lives, even you friends' right there."

Lee jumped up, staring into the sky. He looked for the voice even though he know it wasn't in the sky. "Really? Tell me how!"

The voice was silent but soon it spoke "The Keyblade…if you say the name enough times…you may understand…"

"Hey what the hell does that mean?" Lee asked. The voice remained silenced.

"Fine! Keyblade…Keyblade…Keyblade…Keyblade…" Lee repeated over and over. "It doesn't make sense!"

But then it hit him. "The name itself, Keyblade, gives the impression that it is a key shaped blade. Blades cut…Keys unlock things…But they also lock things, right?" the voice didn't speak. Lee didn't care.

He spun the Keyblade around and positioned it like a staff pointing at the ground. He maneuvered over Wade and in a quick movement, thrust the Keyblade into him. The light grew brighter, almost blinding. Lee twisted the Keyblade and he heard a small click.

Slowly he watched Wade's eyes open. Lee stepped away from him and asked "Dude you alright?"

Wade looked at Lee, then the Keyblade, then the cuts on his chest. "What the he-" he tried to stand up but fell back down.

"Hey take it easy!" Lee helped him set up and he set next to him.

Wade chuckled.

Lee looked at him with an odd expression. "What is it?"  
>Wade smiled and said "Looks like your dream wasn't a dream."<p> 


	5. Chapter 5: Rose

_**Chapter 5: Rose**_

Lee walked next to Wade, supporting him as he limped along. It was starting to get dark outside. Wade's cuts finally stopped bleeding, but every step sent a surge of pain through his body. Lee felt terrible about all of it, and he continuously apologized to Wade for letting him get hurt.

"Dude…IT IS OKAY!" Wade uttered every word with emphasis. Lee thought for a second that it was labored breathing that caused him to do this. But on a second thought he knew that Wade was just trying to make him feel better.

For a while it was silent. The two friends shuffled down the road, nearing closer to where Wade lived.

"So…do we have an excuse?" Wade asked.

Lee tried to think of something to cover for his friends wounds. Finally he said "Richard had a knife?"

"Nah, Mom is friends with Richards dad; she knows he wouldn't carry a knife. Plus, if this went to the law, Richard could end up in jail. He may be an ass, but he doesn't really deserve to go to jail." Wade said in a tone that made Lee give up on any thoughts of accusing Richard.

They slowly approached Richards block, their hearts beating so fast they thought sure they would jumped out of there chest. Lee kept pondering excuses they could use. Nothing came to him, or rather anything of use.

But then something hit him.

"Hey Wade, I have an idea.

Lee stopped and Wade did the same.

After a short pause Lee blurted out "I have an idea! Since the Keyblade picks only those of pure heart, maybe it is light itself!:

Wade gave Lee a funny look and said "What do you mean? How did you learn all of this? Was it the voice?"

Lee smiled and said "Kinda, I just figured since it kills heartless then it's like a weapon of light…right? I mean it makes sense."  
>Wade nodded and said "Okay, yeah yeah. Now tell me this idea of yours."<br>Lee had no intention of telling Wade, but rather he just decided to show him. Lee focused and swung his harm out. With a bright flash, the Keyblade appeared and with a smirk Lee pointed it at Wade.

"W-what are you-" Wade screamed in a panic.

Without paying any attention his friend's words, Lee spoke firmly "Heal!"

The moment he spoke the word, a bright light shot forth from the tip of the Keyblade. It enveloped Wade in a bath of warm and soothing rays. When the light faded, Lee gazed at the places where Wade had been injured. None of the marks remained.

Wade looked at his body and after realizing what just happened he shouted "Now _that's _cool!"

After Lee healed up a few of his cuts, they started to make their way into Wade's house.

"Wade, your home later than usual" a soft voiced woman said as they walked into the living room. There stood Wade's father and mother. Wade closely resembled them both, but it was obvious he got his hair from his father.

"Sorry Mom, me and Lee were at the park." was Wade's excuse.

The women replied with "It's fine honey, dinner just got done. Go wash up." She smiled as her son walked into the kitchen. When the sound of water was heard, the women turned back around and said to Lee "Do you want to have dinner with us as well Lee?"

Without hesitation Lee answered "Yes , it would be great if I could enjoy your awesome cooking!" and smiled really big causing to laugh.

Lee walked into the kitchen and after Wade had finished washing his hands, he did the same. They all, including and Wade's older sister Lily, sat down at the table and feasted on ' famous spaghetti.

An hour and a half later, Lee was walking out of his friend's house, stuffed to the max, and thanking them for having him over. It was a little after 9 and Lee knew that Elizabeth was going to yell at him. With this in mind Lee had no intention of heading home just yet.

Walking slowly, Lee made his way back to the park. As he made it to the spot where him and Wade were sitting before the Heartless attacked, he realized that he had left his skateboard there. He walked over to it and bent over to pick it up.

He felt something hit him in the nose. Lee stood up and staggered backwards. Eyes watering, the world began to blur. He made out a figure standing in front of him. The figure had popped the skateboard up, and whacked Lee in the face.

Lee's eyes cleared and the figure was none other than Richard. Lee let out a sigh of frustration. Did this idiot ever grow tired of hurting him?

"What's the matter Emeric? Crying 'cause your all alone in the park?"

Lee checked to make sure his nose wasn't bleeding and when he was sure it wasn't he told Richard "It's none of your business why I'm here, now give me my skateboard back!"

"Uhh, how about no!" Richard said as he pulled the board up and tossed it on the other side the table. It clattered on the ground and rolled a few feet, eventually coming to a stop. "You were over havin' dinner with the Wade's family again? How lame is that?"

"Shut up Richard, I need to get home!" Lee tried to push past Richard, but his stance wouldn't allow it. That and an outstretched arm blocking his path.

"Nah, I think I wanna have a bit more fun with you. Where did we leave off last night?"

The first punch came so quick, there was no way Lee could dodge it. He hit the ground so hard it felt like a tank had hit him. He tried to get up, but Richard kicked him in the chest. Lee right back to the ground.

"Got anything to say?" Richard asked as he kicked Lee in the gut once more.

Lee hesitated then said "Yeah…why? What have I done to you exactly?"

Richard let out a laugh made Lee's skin crawl. "Absolutely nothing! I just like hurting you!"

When those words escaped Richards' lips, more kicking followed. Lee tried to get up, but every single time he did, Richard was there to knock him back down. Finally Lee gave up. He just lay there, like a dead dog in the road.

"What's the matter idiot?" the bully spat. "Had enough?"

Richard kicked Lee in the side, causing him to roll over. His face was now looking up at Richard. Lee knew how he could stop Richard. Using the Keyblade would allow Lee to defeat Richard. But at what cost? Lowering himself to Richards level as well as revealing the Keyblade to Richard and any others that were around.

"I gotta think fast..." Lee thought to himself "...or I'm gonna be missing some teeth." Richards foot came down, harder than any of the blows before. Lee brought his arm up to defend himself.

But the effort wasn't needed. Just before Richards foot made contact with Lee, and object came hurtling towards Richard. Lee only caught a glimpse of the object, but for a split second he saw a blurred black and white pole. It flew at Richard in spinning motion. The blur came and went so fast that Richard staggered for a few seconds. The shock of the impact had him dazzed.

Lee took this opportunity to get up and run away from Richard. As he rose to his feet he came face to faced with a black figure. His body froze, and as Lee looked into the abyss that was this mysterious persons' face, he felt calm. Like his whole world just melted away.

The a voice came from the figure. It was a women! Very strong, but kind in an odd sort of way. "You owe me one, Emeric!"  
>At these words, Lee fell to the ground. The mysterious figure walked towards Richard, who was just now recovering from the hit.<p>

"Ya know what? Screw off Emeric!" Richard shouted as he turned to run away. "I'll see ya around loser!" After these words, Richard vanished into the night.

Lee barely caught his words, for he was focused on another matter. The figure who saved him...who was he? Or ...she...To him it sounded like a she, so Lee just decided to call it a she for now. He turned to see that the figure was already gone.

Disappointed, Lee let out a small sigh. "I only wanted to think you."

"Your welcome." came the voice. Lee spun around to see the figure behind him again.

"W-who are you?" Lee stuttered.

The figured pace around, seemingly sizing Lee up. "Your taller than I would of thought."

Lee's started to reply but was quickly cut off by the figure.

"Your name just screams "shorty", ya know that right?"

Lee didn't answer. He didn't like being cut off so he just decided to keep his mouth shut. Finally when there were no words being spoken he asked "Who are you?" This time, Lee began to circle around the figure. The mysterious figure was wearing a black cloak with a silver chains attached to the collar section on each side. It probably served only as a fashion device, because it wasn't holding anything together. Lee also notice a shiny silver zipper that lined the front of the cloak. At the top and bottom were the ends. It was kind cool how the zipper originated from the center, rather from the top or bottom. Underneath the cloak, Lee noticed matching shoes and pants. It gave off a sense of business. It could of almost been some type of cloak for a cult of some sorts.

Even after Lee observed all of this, he continued to strafe around the figure. It was sort of a way to mock the figure, but it was also to see if it was really a girl. If it was any thought that came to mind when Lee thought of girls it was-

"Boobs?" Lee shouted as he made his was to the figures side. And sure enough there they were. Breasts. This person was definitely a women.

The figure let out a angry huff and before Lee could defend himself, a hand was planted right across Lee's face.

"Your such a pervert!" Her voice seemed more feminine. "Of course I'm a girl! Couldn't you tell by my voice?"

Lee was still recovering from the hit when he said " Yeah, but...I was just makin' sure!"

"Yeah whatever!" Was her reply for Lee's defense. "So, that guy. What's his name? Richard"

"Yeah he's a real jerk! Apparently he just gets his kicks out of hurtin' me!"

The women thought for a second, then she asked "How come you didn't use your Keyblade? You still having trouble summoning it?"

Lee stood there, shocked. This person knew about the Keyblade? "What...what do you mean? What's a ...key-blade?"

"Don't play dumb! I was hiding earlier and saw you bring it out to save your friend!" The women sounded a little annoyed. "It's...okay if you don't have full control of it yet just...Bring it out! I wanna see it"  
>Lee hesitated then asked "First...answer my question. What was it you threw at Richard? Was it YOUR Keyblade? Do you have one too? Are there more than one kind? Are there others like me who can use the Keyblade?"<p>

"Whoa kid! Slow down!"

"I'm not a kid!" Lee shouted.

"Alright, alright calm down. And you said question, not questions. But to answer all of them, yes." The figure held out her hand and a flash of light came out. Almost instantly her Keyblade was in front of him. It was oddly shaped around the guard, almost like someone took crescent moons and made a square out of them. The blade was two crescent shaped bars that led up to the tip, which, in Lee's opinion, was the coolest part of her Keyblade. Where the bars met the tip, they suddenly sprouted forth into many roses. In the cent of them all was a big crescent moon. The Keyblade was black on one side, white on the other.

"WHOA!" Lee shouted "How did you get yours like that?"

The figure answered with a graceful reply. "'Tis the shape of my heart! What lays deep within my soul. You know, your Keyblade generally reflects your personality! So lets see yours!" The figure seemed excited.

Lee concentrated and at first nothing happened. But after a moment there was a bright flash. And from that flash came Lee's Keyblade. Lee frowned as he looked at it. "It just looks like a stupid key."  
>The figure laughed then said "It seems you don't fully understand yourself yet. It's the only way your Keyblade can take it's true form. And with it, it's true powers!"<p>

"So...this is kinda like a default, right?" asked Lee.

"If you wanna call it that, but don't worry. In time you'll find out who you really are." The figure put her Keyblade away and turned away from Lee. "You should get home, it's late."

Lee put his away and said "Wait, you never told me who you were! What's your name? Mines Lee."

"Oh I know yours!" She giggled "But you don't have the right to know mine. But don't worry, I'll tell you some day when I trust you."

As the figure ran off Lee shouted "Then what do I call you?"

Lee barely hear the figures reply, but he made out one word "Rose". Lee smiled and turned from home. He knew he'd see her again someday. In fact, he actually hoped to see Rose the very next day.

After some time, Lee made it to his back door. He knew once he set foot inside, the yelling would start. So he just sat on the ground. Lee remained there for at least a few minutes. He was tired and so he finally decided it was time to hit the hay.

Lee began to open the door and immediately his sister bombarded him with angry questions. All of these were blocked out by the memories of that women Rose. And of one annoying thought.

He had forgotten his skateboard at the park.

*if you want to see what Roses' Keyblade kinda looks like go to my deviant art page :D my username is kingmickey358*


	6. Chapter 6: Skill

_**Chapter 6: Skill**_

The next morning was very uneventful. Things seemed...boring. Lee remembered everything that had happened last night. He had met a strange women named Rose. He felt like talking to her and learning some more about the Keyblade. He set in his room and stared at the floor.

"I didn't even get to see what she looked like..." Lee said out loud to himself "What's my problem?! Why does it matter?"

Lee hopped off the bead and started towards door. He stopped at his mirror like he always did. He grabbed a brush and fixed his hair really quick. When he put the brush down, he looked down at his hand. Lee willed the Keyblade to appear, and it did. He was finally beginning to control it fully. But one thing was bugging him.

It wasn't truly his Keyblade. The one he was using was sort of a default, and resembled nothing of himself.

Lee put the Keyblade away and walked out of his room. Elizabeth wasn't in the kitchen like she usually was. Instead, there on the kitchen counter, was a note from his sister.

_Lee,_

_ I had to go to work early. Someone called in sick. When you read this, I need you to take out the trash and clean up the house a little okay? I mean it, I want it done okay? And don't even think of going any where today! After last night, your lucky I haven't killed you. It was way to late to be at the park and you know it. When your finished cleaning...read book or something. It may do ya some good._

_Elizabeth_

"As if!" Lee shouted. "I aint leaving my skateboard at the park all day. It's probably already gone by now..." Lee grabbed a piece of bread and headed out the door. He stuck the piece of bread in his mouth crouched down to tie his shoe. When he stood back up he came face to face with Rose.

"WOAH!" Lee shouted, dropped the piece of bread on the the ground. "R-rose?"

"Yup" Rose said. She still had the cloak on, and her face was still concealed. "Where ya goin' today?"

"Uh...I was gonna go get my skateboard..that it...if it's still there." Lee got back up on his feet and dusted off his pants.

"You mean this thing?" Rose held up his skateboard. It didn't look like it had been damaged at all.

"You grabbed it last night?!" Lee shouted as he snatched the board away from Rose. "Thanks a bunch Rose..."

Lee remembered all that had happened the night before. He had so many questions to ask Rose. Like how to find his true self. How to fight better. "Hey uh, Rose?"

"I know you have a lot of questions. But it's not like I can answer them all." It was as if she was reading his mind.

"Could I...at least see your face? I mean it's not all that fair. You know what I look like." Lee hoped to see what Rose looked like. He pictured a very beautiful girl with long hair. But there was no way to be sure by just voice alone.

"I'll tell ya what...follow me." said Rose as she turned and rounded the corner of Lee's house. Lee didn't know what to do at first. But he eventually ran to catch up with Rose.

Luckily, no one was around to see Lee chasing after a woman in a black cloak. His friends would of found it very suspicious. Rose led Lee through many alleys, under a bridge and finally to and old parking lot that was in front of an L shaped building.

"No one comes here. Except for maybe a few Heartless." Rose stated. "I come here to train, and sometimes think. This has got to be one of my favorite worlds!"

When she said this, Lee didn't know what to think. Favorite world? Did she mean she came from another world? Finally Lee asked "Your...from another world right?...Not this one.."

. "Yup, I'm from a galaxy far far away!" Rose said sarcastically.

"Oh haha, Star Wars reference, very funny!" Lee blurted out

"Yeah, they weren't that great of movies though..."

"Don't change the subject, I'm being serious!" Lee shouted. "Why won't you explain yourself? Who EXACTLY are you?"

For a moment Rose stood still. Then finally she lifted up her hand and after a second, her Moonlit Rose Keyblade appeared. "Get ready!" Rose shouted as she leaped towards Lee.

"What are you-" Lee started to say, but he was cut off but cold steel, or whatever material Keyblade's were made of, whacking him in the side. Rose jumped back and brought her Keyblade up to her face, holding it straight up like some sort of fighting stance.

Lee hit the ground hard and felt the air in his lungs leave him. He got up on his knees and saw that his side and his arm had been cut and were already bleeding pretty badly.

"Be glad I held back, or my Moonlit Rose would have shredded you to pieces!" Rose shouted at Lee, a hint of anger flowing through her words. "Now, stand and fight!"

Lee summoned his Keyblade and stood up. He staggered for a second, attempting to get his breath back. He swung his Keyblade up into the air and let out a labored shout "Heal!" In a matter of seconds the cut on his arm and side were gone and he could feel the air returning to his lungs.

"Oh, so your patching yourself up after every little hit huh?" Rose inquired. "Too bad-" Rose started to say. She ran at Lee and finished her sentence "-you won't have time to do that again!"

As Rose brought her Keyblade down, Lee realized he need to guard. He swung his Keyblade at Rose's attempted uppercut, and it deflected that attack. But, almost immediately Rose countered. She had let the moment of Lee's hit, carry her Keyblade around in a 360, whacking Lee in the arm. Lee shouted, pained by the hit and by his failed attempt to best Rose. He dropped his Keyblade and fell to his knee's.

"Why are we even fighting!?" Lee shouted. "This is ridiculous, I thought you were on my side?!"

Rose laughed and said "Hey! I never said I was on anyone's side. And plus, you need training. The Heartless are getting stronger Lee. What you've faced is no where near as powerful as what I've faced on my home world. They aren't all just little Shadows you can cut in half!"

Lee frowned. A girl was kicking his butt. But what could he do? It was obvious that Rose had a lot more experience than he could ever hope to have. "Rose...I can't beat you..You know that. Your a lot stronger than me. So let's stop okay?"

Rose was starting to get a little ticked off. "No, not okay. Your one of the Keyblade's chosen. I'm gonna train you so another world doesn't fall to darkness like mine did!" At this, Lee looked up at Rose. She had fallen to her knees and was crying. Lee could hear her sobbing and he saw a tear hit the ground. She let go of her Keyblade and it vanished. The situation had gone from crazy, to serious. Seriously weird. It was obvious this fight was more than just about him. Something had happened.

Lee couldn't stand to see her cry. He didn't understand much what was going on but he knew that Rose felt like she had to train him. Maybe to avenge her home world, or perhaps another reason. Lee quickly put his Keyblade away and went over to try and comfort her.

As Lee reached his hand out, Rose smacked it away and said "Stop! It's fine...I was just remembering some stuff. Look...you have a Keyblade. And you don't know how to fight so..."

"Hey! I can fight!...kinda" Lee said. This made Rose laugh. He could see part of her face as she wiped the last of her tears away. Her skin looked a little pale and was smooth.

"Sorry...about that emotional outburst, it's not like me to do that. Tell ya what...If you can land one hit one me-" Rose started to say. She stood up and backed away from Lee. Drawing her Keyblade, she continued "-then I'll think about taking my hood off. You...wanted to see my face, right?"

Lee felt a bit of excitement. He quickly stood up and swung his arm. His Keyblade appeared and with a small sense of cockiness, Lee said "Okay that sounds cool. I doubt I can hit you though...Your really fast."

"And that is EXACTLY why you can't fight." Said Rose, giving Lee a little push. "You've got this "I can't do it" kind of attitude. Come on Lee. Think positive."

"Think...positive?..." Lee brought his Keyblade to his side. Then, turning so his left side faced Rose, pulled the Keyblade back into the position that Lee felt best for him. He still thought it was an odd position, but for some reason, it felt completely and totally right. The tip pointed at the ground, facing opposite of where Rose was. Lee felt ready and so he charged.

For a split second, Lee could tell what Rose was thinking. His awkward position looked like an uppercut waiting to happen. Rose readied herself but then, began to strafe around Lee's right side.  
>She then stopped and shouted "Come on! What are you waiting fo-"<p>

Lee charged. Rose readied her Keyblade. Lee started to swing up at her, then quickly fainted left and stabbed. Twisting her wrist, Rose parried Lee's thrust and knocked his Keyblade out of his hand. It flew high into the air and Rose whacked Lee hard on his left side. He fell to the ground, gasping for air.

"Come on Lee! You gotta get back up!" Rose shouted as Lee's Keyblade fell to the ground. Lee reached for it and it popped into his hand. He then had an idea.

Rising to his feet he asked "So...just one hit right?"  
>"Yes" replied Rose. She kept her guard up. She could tell Lee was planning something.<p>

Lee charged...and Rose was ready. She brought her blade up, ready to guard. Lee swung horizontally at her. Rose blocked his attack and a loud clanging filled the area.

"Is that all?" asked Rose. She leaned forward, pushing Lee's arm down. Rose began to wonder, why Lee was only using one hand to hold her back. She glanced to his left hand and saw that it was open. Like he was reaching for something

Then it hit her. Before she could react, Lee's Keyblade vanished. He pulled his hand back and, in one swift motion, his Keyblade appeared in his left hand and he swung. A backhand hit still counted, and Lee had made sure he hit Rose.

Rose fell to the ground and gasped in pain. Her side was bruised bad, so Lee used a bit of magic to heal it and held out his hand to help her up. She took it and stared at him. What had just happened? None of it made sense because it had all happened so fast.  
>"What did you..." she started to say.<p>

Lee shrugged. "It was just an idea I had. I didn't actually think it could work."

"Well what ever you did, it was kinda cool." Rose said. She turned and started to walk away.  
>For a moment Lee didn't say anything. But then, soon, he realized he hadn't claimed his prize. "Hey! Wait, Rose!"<p>

Rose turned to him. "What is it?"

"C'mon, you owe me. I hit you so now I get to see your face."

Rose laughed. "That's right...I did say I'd show you."

"So let's see it then." Lee said. He released his Keyblade and it vanished.  
>Slowly, Rose lifted her hands to her hood. She lifted it off of her head, and it fell to her shoulders. She ran her hand through her hair and smiled. She even blushed a little.<p>

The first word that came to mind when Lee looked at Rose was beauty. She had dark pink hair that fell to her shoulders. Her face was thin, but not too thin. Her eyes where what really caught Lee's attention. They were completely white. Even the pupil was white. She looked like maybe she was blind but it was obvious she wasn't. All in all, Lee could only stare at Rose's features.

She blushed even more and shouted "What!? Is there something on my face?"

"N-no" Lee stammered "You look...great." This time Lee did the blushing.

The two turned from each other and tried to calm themselves. After a few seconds Lee looked back at Rose. Another thing was bugging him. Something almost as intriguing as her looks.

"Rose...when do I get to learn you real name?" Lee asked.

Rose stared him directly in the eyes. "I don't know...maybe one day." She turned from him and put her hood back up. "For now we have to get you trained up. The Heartless should be coming. They'll invade this world soon, I can feel it. You'll have a lot more to deal with than a few Shadows."

Rose walked away. For some reason Lee didn't feel like following her. It was as if Lee had gathered enough information about Rose, and felt satisfied to let her leave. He knew he would see her again.  
>"Well I better get home."<p>

Lee started to head home, but stopped in mid step. He turned and faced the spot where him and Rose had clashed. He summoned his Keyblade and thought for a second. Lee lifted up his left hand and let his Keyblade go. It vanished, then reappeared in his left hand. The only difference was that it was now facing backwards. He repeated this process in reverse. Soon he had it jumping from right to left hand, and left to right.

Lee smiled. "Maybe...this is some kind of new skill?"


	7. Chapter 7: Three's A Crowd

_**Chapter 7: Three's A Crowed**_

For weeks they trained. They had simple little sparring matches that tested each others skills. They went to the same spot to train every day. By the end of each day, the two of them were dripping with sweat. They would rest, and would go home. Or at least, Lee would. He knew Rose had no place to call home. Where had she been staying his whole time?

One morning Lee was stirred from his sleep.

"Lee, you sleepy head, wake up!" came a soft voice.

Lee mumbled in his sleep for a second. Then he rolled over and said "Not yet sis, give me a few more hours."

"I'm not your sis, silly. Now get up!" Lee sat right up. In his bedroom, setting at the foot of his bed, was Rose. She didn't have on her robe though. She had on a plain, light blue T-shirt, black shorts that were knee length, and a gray beanie over her head. Her figure was more viewable in this attire. Lee couldn't help but stare.

"Hey perv!" She shouted "What's wrong with my cloths, huh?"

"N-nothing!" Lee yelled back "But why are you here? And in my room for that matter!?"

Rose stood up and smiled. "We got training to do, let's go!" She then turned and walked out of his room. Lee quickly got up and threw on some cloths. The usual attire was his choice. Jeans, shirt, and that was it. Plain and simple. He fixed his hair and bolted out his bedroom door.

"Good morning lazy bones!" His sister Elizabeth was setting in the kitchen drinking some water. "Your girlfriend here said you two had a date today. Better get your rear in gear!"

Lee didn't know what to think. His first thought was why the heck did she let a stranger in the house. His second was-

"S-she isn't my girlfriend!" he shouted.

"Aw c'mon babe, she should know." Rose said with a playful wink.

"Rose what are you-" Lee began to say.

"Lee! Just because you got your little girlie-friend around doesn't mean you can skip chores. Now Get on 'em!" Elizabeth was scolding him, but not as bad as usual. It was probably because someone else was in the house. She liked to keep her public appearance nice and easy going. Lee huffed and started the dishes. In no time, they were done. He took out the trash and swept the house, the whole while he could hear Rose and Elizabeth talking. Mostly about girl stuff like cloths. But occasionally Elizabeth would ask Rose a personal question like who her parents were or where she grew up. Rose actually gave pretty good answers. Lee thought maybe she was lying but then again he remembered that in her home world she probably still had family. That is, before the Heartless invaded.

Finally Lee was finished. "There!' he said. "C'mon Rose let's go." Lee headed for the door before his sister could say anything.

"Goodbye Rose, it was nice meeting you" Elizabeth said. "Don't you two get into any trouble, okay?"

"Okay Mrs. Emeric. It was nice to meet you too." Rose said with a smile.

"Oh please just call me Elizabeth ."

Lee was waiting around the corner of his house with his skateboard. When Rose rounded the corner he half shouted, half whispered "What the hell was that?!"

"What was what?" Rose teased.

Lee was getting flustered. "You told my sister we were dating? Why?"

Rose giggled. "Because, it'll make it easier to hang around you."

"You could of just said we were friends!"

She stuck her tongue out.

"Rrrrrrg" Lee growled.

Rose's expression changed to a more saddened one and she asked "Are you saying you wouldn't date me?"

This caught Lee off guard. His cheeks flooded with color. "W-what!?"

"Heehee, just kidding." Rose stuck her tongue out again and then she jogged towards the road.

"Are we training at the same spot again?" Lee asked, finally regaining his composure.

"Nah, I got another place in mind." said Rose. She ran off down the street.

Lee jumped on his skateboard, shouting "Hey! Wait up!"

After a long and speechless walk, the two had arrived at a line of trees that signaled the beginning of a small patch of woods. Lee remembered that in the winter, kids would come and play in these woods. It was the only place where there was untouched snow. Perfect for snowball fights, as well as sparring sessions.

"So, we're going in there?" Lee asked nervously. Secretly he had a small fear of the woods. He felt like something would jump out from the tree tops at him. The woods were so dark and mysterious, Lee thought, that he did his best to avoid them as much as he could.

"Yup" replied Rose. "I thought a change of scenery would be nice. Well, for me that is." Rose started for the woods. It took Lee a few seconds to register that he had to follow her. So, reluctantly, he ran to catch up with Rose.

The woods were like any other woods. Trees, trees, and more trees. At one point, a small stream of water cut through the path that Lee was following. He quickly jumped over the stream.

"So...why are we in the woods?" asked Lee.

Rose smiled. "Just a change of scenery is all."

Eventually they came to a stop at an opening in the trees. It was a circular patch of land that was full of grass and flowers. the field was a perfect sparring ground. Lee thought it was a very nice place. Rose seemed to think otherwise, for her face seemed pained.

"I like this place. It reminds me of home." Rose said as she turned in place, taking in the view. She looked sad. Lee wanted to know more about Rose and her home world.

"What was your home world like Rose?" Lee asked it flat out.

Rose didn't say anything at first. But finally she said "My home world was like this field here. Very pretty…Very quiet…Very…" Her voice trailed off into nothingness. Lee could tell she was homesick.

"Forget I asked." Lee said abruptly, trying to change the subject. "We're going to train? Right?"

Rose set down on a clearing between patches of flowers. "I've…changed my mind. Today…we will sit."

Lee couldn't make sense of what she just said. Maybe because it was so simple. Sit? She wanted to just sit? He didn't understand why she brought him all the way out here just to sit. Lee figured remembered that her home world was destroyed by the Heartless was part of it. But so far, from what he's seen of Rose's was a strong person. He figured that she would be the type to train any time she could. He figured she would want to get stronger and avenge her home world. When Rose said that there they wouldn't be training today, it kind of stunned Lee. He was so used to training, a day off would be tough.

"So…" Lee started to say as he sat down. The grass was soft, green, and still coated in dew. "What are we just sitting for? Shouldn't we be training?" Lee asked. Rose's eyes were closed. She looked so peaceful, so beautiful. Lee felt like he was staring too much, because he was, so he quickly focused on something else.

"Ya know something Lee…" Rose finally said. Lee looked back at her. "This world….is so nice. Despite all the bad things like criminals and pollutions, this world its beautiful. It truly is nice. Much like my home world."

"Really?" Lee asked. Was he getting a glimpse into the mysterious Rose's home world?

"Yeah" She said. "All the sounds and smells….they're the same as my world's."

Lee felt like learning more about Rose. She seemed to be opening up so now was a good a time as any. "How did you get the Keyblade?"

Rose opened her eyes. They were shining bright white. Lee thought it was kinda creepy that her eyes were completely white. She soon said "It was about a year ago…I think. The Heartless invaded. It all happened so fast I didn't know what to do. I ran."

Rose took a breath and continued "Eventually, I got trapped in an alleyway. The heartless attacked me. The Darkness took me. But just before I slipped away…I was saved by a bright light. I blinked and I was back in the alley way. In my hand…" Rose summoned her Keyblade. "…was my Keyblade, Moonlit Rose."

She smiled. Lee liked it when she smiled. "I tried to help as many people as I could. But slowly everything went black. I woke up and found out I was in another world."

"Wait…" Lee said. "Then how did you get here? To this world?"

Rose released her Keyblade. "I…used a special method."

"What's that supposed to me-" was all Lee could get out. In an instant there was a flash in the sky. And from the flash something fell. It crashed down into a nearby section of the woods.

"C'mon let's go check that out." Rose said as she jumped to her feet. Lee jumped up as well and ran after Rose.

The crash site wasn't that far from where they had been sitting. When they came across a man made trench. It looked as if something had been dragged along the ground.

"What do you think it is?" asked Lee.

"I don't know," said Rose. "but we're about to find out." She followed the trench. Lee was right behind her. As they walked, Lee examined the trench.

"It kinda looks like a person made it." he said.

"Look!" Rose shouted as she pointed towards a mound of dirt. They both ran towards the mound. As they slowed to a halt, the unexpected happened.

The mound of dirt started to move. At first it wasn't much, but slowly, something started to crawl out of the dirt. What ever had crashed landed was now crawling out of its would be tomb.

"Rose get ready!" Lee shouted as he brought out his Keyblade out. Rose did the same.

"Nothing human could have survived that crash." Rose said preparing to defend against this enemy lurking in the dirt. "It's probably a Heartless Lee!"

A hand sprang forth. This made Lee and Rose jump. Soon a second hand sprouted. And finally...

"Gah!" screamed the head that popped out of the dirt. It shook dirt out of its hair, and spat just as much out of its mouth. It was definitely a human. A boy with longish black hair and bright green eyes, which were slanted. This gave him sort of an Asian look.

Lee's eyes were focused the dirt boy. He was just about to ask him who or what he was when-

"Lynn!" Rose shouted. She dropped her Moonlit Rose and threw her arms him.

Lee didn't know what to think. Rose knew this guy? But how? "This guy just fell out of the sky!" Lee thought to himself. "How does she know him?"

"Lynn! I'm so glad you escaped!" Rose continued to shout with joy.

Lynn looked stunned. "Umm…" he started to say.

"How did you escape? And, how did you get here?!"

"Rose!" Lee shouted. She let go of Lynn and looked at Lee. "Your kind of freaking him out."

Rose looked at Lynn. He looked like he was about to crap his pants.

"I….I don't know who you are." Lynn said with no emotion. "Why do you keep calling me...Lynn was it?"

Rose looked as if she had been struck across her face. "W-what do you mean, Lynn? We're best friends. Remember? The day those monsters attacked, we got separated. I thought they had gotten you." Rose frowned. She was being serious. Perhaps this guy was the classic amnesia case.

"Rose…I don't think he knows who you are." Lee finally said.

Lynn spoke up. "I'm sorry. Maybe you have mistaken me for someone else."

"No!" Rose shouted. She quickly stood up. "Your Lynn Shoji. Your my best friend. I remember you. You are Lynn!"

All of sudden Lynn grabbed his head.

"Ahhhh!" He screamed. Rose went to his side and tried to calm him down. She was almost in tears.

"What's wrong Lynn?" she said in the most gentle voice Lee had ever heard Rose speak in. Slowly, Lynn started to calm down.

"Rose," Lee said. "I think he's hit his head really hard. He probably has amnesia or something."

"Let's help him" said Rose.

Lee nodded and proceeded to help Lynn to his feet. Once he was up, Lee saw that he wasn't even damaged from the fall. No cuts, no bruises. Nothing.

"Your lucky. I figured you'd break something from falling that high up." Lee said. "By the way, how did you end up here? In this world I mean."

Lynn didn't answer at first but then he "I don't know. All I remember is...falling. That's it. Nothing before that."

Rose looked depressed. If Lynn was her friend, then he really did have amnesia. Lee felt empathetic towards Rose. He knew that if Wade forgot he was, then he'd be depressed as well.

"Don't worry Rose, he'll remember eventually. We just gotta help him."

"Perhaps," Lee said as he looked over at Lynn. "He looks beat. Let's take him some place to rest."

"But where?" Rose asked. "Your sister wouldn't be cool with him, would she?"

Lee shook his head. "Nah, she is barely letting you come in the house. Do you have a place?"

"N-no...I don't" Roses said, embarrassed.

"What?!" Lee asked shockingly. His guess was right. Rose had been living on the streets ever since she had arrived on his world. "Where have you been staying then?"

"L-look, let's just help Lynn out okay? Do you think he could stay at Wade's?"

Lee thought for a moment. Wade's parents _did_ love him like their own son. "I think Wade's parents might be cool with it, but I can't say for sure. Let's head over to his house and see if-"

Slam!

Something had just attacked him. Lee spun around to see who the attacker was. To no surprise, he found that it was a group of Heartless.

"Defenders!" shouted Rose as she summoned her Keyblade.

"Well this is new." Lee said, drawing his weapon and analyzing the new Heartless. It was fairly big, with purple skin that was covered in light blue armor. The main thing that stuck out was it's big shield that had a demon dog head on the front of it.

Suddenly, before Lee could analyze his foe any longer, the shield charged at him. Lee blocked the attack and rolled around to the backside of the Defender. As soon as his feet were planted, Lee jumped up and struck the enemy with his Keyblade. The Defender howled in pain and spun around, whacking Lee in the side with it's shield.

"Lee!" shouted Rose as she joined in the fight. Rose tried to get the beasts attention by making quick jabs at it's shield. Blocking each one, the Defender didn't notice that Lee was coming up on his rear. With a loud yell, Lee brought his Keyblade down hard on the Defender's back. It reared up, howling in pain. It was over.

...Or so they thought. Immediately it spun around, smacking both Rose and Lee. It's attacked brought the two the ground. The Defender faced Rose and lifted up it's shield. The mouth of the demon dog on the shield opened up, and from within came a red glow.

"Rose, run!" Lee shouted, struggling to get on his feet. Rose was having trouble as well. The blows from the Heartless shield had done a number on them.

A ball of fire was starting to form in the mouth of the shield. The Defender readied it's fire and was about to shoot when...

SLICE.

The Defender dropped it's shield and started to fade. Lee and Rose were stunned to find that they're savior was none other that Lynn. In his hand was something Lee didn't expect to see.

A Keyblade.

Lee managed to get to his feet, but Rose was still stunned to see her best friend wielding a weapon of light. Lee looked to Lynn, then to Rose. Finally he looked at his Keyblade. Three Keyblade wielders were standing in one area.

"Just how many could there be?" Lee thought to himself.

Rose finally stood and stared at Lynn in awe. "Lynn" she said. "how did you...get a Keyblade?"

Lynn's response was to stared at the blade in his hand. Lee hadn't gotten a good look it yet, and was about to, when suddenly it disappeared. The only thing Lee had noticed was that it was completely black.

As Lynn stared down at his hand, Lee said some thing that made even Rose laugh.

"Me, you and Lynn. Keyblade wielders. Man, three's a crowd."


End file.
